The Biden administration on Thursday is expected to unveil another strategy to fight the latest COVID-19 surge driven by the delta variant, after a series of setbacks and missteps in the battle against the pandemic.
The White House says President Joe Biden’s afternoon speech Thursday will encourage vaccinations for those who haven’t had a shot and promote new ways to protect those who are vaccinated. He’ll also push efforts to safely keep schools open, as well as new ways to boost testing and promote mask requirements. And he’ll emphasize steps to boost the economic recovery and moves to improve treatment for those with COVID-19.
A source familiar with the announcement tells NPR’s Tamara Keith areas of focus for the administration will be:
- Vaccinating the unvaccinated
- Furthering protection for people who are vaccinated
- Keeping schools safely open
- Increasing testing and requiring masks
- Protecting the economy
- Improving care for people with COVID-19
Meantime, the Associated Press is reporting that Biden will sign an executive order to require vaccination for federal employees in the executive branch and contractors who do business with the federal government.
Biden’s handling of the pandemic previously was a strength in polling, but as cases and hospitalizations surge, his approval is dropping.
Some public health experts say the decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to drop masking requirements in May contributed to the current phase of the pandemic. NPR’s Rob Stein says the seemingly mixed messages on booster shots isn’t helping, either.
Copyright 2021 NPR
